Consumer Safety Complaints
Search 2,245,377 safety complaints filed by vehicle owners with NHTSA, including 140,173 crashes, 56,794 fires, and 8,580 deaths.
What is a NHTSA consumer complaint?
A consumer complaint is a free-form report filed by a vehicle owner directly to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) describing a safety concern about their vehicle. NHTSA collects these reports through its Vehicle Owner Defect Report (VOQ) system and publishes them publicly. Each complaint includes the affected component, the date and circumstances of the incident, whether the failure caused a crash or fire, and any reported injuries or deaths. The owner's full narrative description is included verbatim, NHTSA does not edit or moderate the descriptions.
The database below contains over 2,245,377 individual complaints. NHTSA's investigators monitor it for clusters of similar reports, when enough owners describe the same failure mode on the same vehicle, NHTSA may open a Preliminary Evaluation that can lead to a recall. Many of the largest recalls in U.S. history, including the Takata airbag recall and the Hyundai/Kia engine fire recalls, started as patterns visible in this complaint database years before they became formal recalls.
How to interpret what you read
A few principles for reading consumer complaints usefully:
- One complaint is anecdote; a hundred similar complaints is data. NHTSA does not investigate the truthfulness of any individual report, that's the job of the Office of Defects Investigation, which looks at the full pattern. When evaluating a vehicle, look for whether multiple owners describe the same chain of events.
- Crash, fire, injury, and death flags are owner-set. They are not verified by NHTSA. They are still useful as a filter, because owners who tick those boxes are typically reporting more serious incidents than those who don't.
- Component categories are NHTSA-assigned, not owner-assigned. NHTSA standardizes the component field so that complaints can be aggregated. The owner narrative often goes into more detail than the component category captures.
- Complaint volume scales with sales volume. A best-selling model will accumulate more raw complaints than a niche model even at the same defect rate. To compare across vehicles, look at complaints per 100,000 units sold, not raw counts.
If you've experienced a defect
File a complaint. NHTSA's investigators rely on this database to detect emerging defects, and useful complaints, specific, concrete, with dates and mileage and clear descriptions of what happened, feed directly into the agency's pattern detection. The form takes about 10 minutes and is at nhtsa.gov/recalls under "Report a Safety Problem." Your complaint becomes part of the same public record that this page is built from. Owners filing detailed VOQs are how recalls get triggered.
Read more from our blog
Showing 23,203 complaints for TESLA
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
I am writing to file a formal complaint against Koeppel Nissan regarding their refusal to service my vehicle for a factory safety recall (tie rod replacement) and additional services upon request such as; clogged drain(water inside car doors), wheel alignment, evaporator core leakage( water on back seat floor), tire rotation, water in spare wheel well & front door check strap repair. I believe it... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
I am writing to file a formal complaint against Koeppel Nissan regarding their refusal to service my vehicle for a factory safety recall (tie rod replacement) and additional services upon request such as; clogged drain(water inside car doors), wheel alignment, evaporator core leakage( water on back seat floor), tire rotation, water in spare wheel well & front door check strap repair. I believe it... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
Sporadically, I've been driving and the steering stiffens so much that I can barely turn the wheel. The car flashes a warning that steering assist may be reduced. I pull over, turn the car off, restart it, and it is fine again. This happens, such as the last time I filled this out, randomly and not every day nor on every drive. I contacted Tesla and they estimated a $2,000+ cost to fix it and can'... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Edge. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the check engine warning light illuminated, and vehicle started to hesitate while driving. The contact also stated that there was heavy white smoke coming from the tailpipe. The vehicle was taken to a dealer and diagnosed with coolant intrusion into cylinder #2, which caused engine damage. The manufac... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
Purchased the vehicle on Saturday. Lincoln motors had issued a stop sale on these vehicles due to back up camera recall issues. The stop sale has been lifted and we were assured that the back up camera recall had been fixed. We were contacted by Lincoln to trade in our vehicle due to the issues with the 2021 model and the unavailability of parts. Upon using the vehicle on Monday afternoon, the bac... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
Purchased the vehicle on Saturday. Lincoln motors had issued a stop sale on these vehicles due to back up camera recall issues. The stop sale has been lifted and we were assured that the back up camera recall had been fixed. We were contacted by Lincoln to trade in our vehicle due to the issues with the 2021 model and the unavailability of parts. Upon using the vehicle on Monday afternoon, the bac... Read more
Incident date: Aug 11, 2023
Purchased the vehicle on Saturday. Lincoln motors had issued a stop sale on these vehicles due to back up camera recall issues. The stop sale has been lifted and we were assured that the back up camera recall had been fixed. We were contacted by Lincoln to trade in our vehicle due to the issues with the 2021 model and the unavailability of parts. Upon using the vehicle on Monday afternoon, the bac... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle hesitated and started to shake. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant had leaked into... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Ford Escape. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle hesitated and stalled. The contact was able to restart the vehicle; however, the vehicle hesitated and started to shake. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that coolant had leaked into... Read more
Incident date: Aug 16, 2023
ABS, Break and traction control lights from dashboard lit on and breaks were difficult to operate during driving, able to drive back home safely. Find out that ABS (brake booster and brake booster pump assemblies which are consider safety items), are defective and can cause accidents. When calling Toyota Customer Experience Center, they decline to honor customer support program ZJB due to my car i... Read more
Incident date: Aug 12, 2023
I have had my Tesla to their shop FOUR times to try to fix a safety airbag issue in the drivers side which they have had my car for weeks and weeks on end, only for me to get it back with the same issue after only a few days of repair! I asked them for a refund and other things and they have done nothing! They still make me pay full price for my lease even though they have had my car in their sho... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
For several years now, when someone sits on the front passenger seat, the airbag light will intermittently come on. It also comes on if the person gets out of the seat. I took the vehicle to a dealership and they charged me over $100 to diagnose, and said the cable was loose and they fixed it. The next day it started doing this same thing again, but it doesn't happen when the dealer looks at the v... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
upon arriving home after a vacation, the NAV experienced complete brake fluid loss and no braking as a result. I investigated the brake lines and one of the lines had been secured to the frame with a clip - this clip was not secure and the brake like was chaffed against the air cleaner housing
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
I have now been told that my rack and pinion is leaking by 3-4 different mechanics. In doing a google search, I see that through various years of the chevy traverse, the rack and pinion leaking and needing to be replaced at a high cost (and also being a big safety risk to not replace) is a very common issue in the traverse.
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
Was driving on interstate 24 between Nashville and Chattanooga, sunday Sept 17th around 1 PM, temp was about 80 F, out of no where, there was a loud boom , like a gunshot, between my wife and I ( Im driving ) I look over at her to see if she was OK, then looked up, I saw the first section of my sun roof glass had shattered into a spider web appearance, then suddenly a chunk of the glass, about ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 18, 2023
The contact owns a 2017 Chevrolet Camaro. The contact stated while driving at various speeds, a message indicating that the electronic power steering needed to be serviced was displayed, and the vehicle lost power steering functionality. The contact stated that the vehicle was significantly difficult to steer. The contact was able to veer to the side of the road by using physical strength to steer... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2023
Front drivers side door suddenly started making crunching sound when opening. There was no damage, accident, warning or any other incident that proceeded it. It was working normally and then it wasn’t. It is a safety issue because the door doesn’t open fully and the window and door locks do also not work properly. Window will roll down but not up which makes it impossible to secure vehicl... Read more
Incident date: Jul 28, 2023
When accelerating slowly or if stuck in stop and go traffic, the vehicle stalls or loses power briefly, but long enough to get hit from behind if the person behind is not paying attention.
Incident date: Jul 28, 2023
Roof racks are secured with double sided tape. Tape on both racks failed causing both racks to become up secured from roof of vehicle.
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
Power steering making clicking noise and loose steering
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
When driving above 50 mph my car steering wheel almost feels sticky when trying to first turn it. On the highway, I have had it get to the point where it almost feels like it will be stuck when trying to turn it initially, it had a decent amount of restriction that almost lead to over correction. No warnings or errors were flashing on the dashboard and no noises were recognized when it occurred. ... Read more
Incident date: Jun 8, 2023
on Sep 17 2023 my wife was driving her Audi Q7. which has 25,780 miles. She drove to a parking lot for a hiking trip, pressed on the brake and the car instead of stopping accelerated. She kept trying to press the brake, however the car did not stop until it hit a tree. The car has been towed to our house and it is not driveable. The car has not been inspected yet. I plan on calling the Audi d... Read more
Crash
Incident date: Jun 11, 2023
On the dates of Saturday, September 9, 2023, Monday, September 11, 2023, and Sunday September 17, my car stopped (with Start/Stop activated) in traffic, rotated the gearshift to park, would no let me manually rotate the gearshift into neutral, nor could I restart the vehicle. I had the battery replaced on Saturday, September 9, 2023, towed to my local Ford Dealership on Monday, September 11, 2023.... Read more
Incident date: Jan 1, 2023
While driving my children, my 2017 Ford Expedition lost power and went into 'limp' mode (wrench appears on the dash) along with an incredibly rough idle. This is at least the 3rd time that this has happened (twice before replacing the current throttle bottle) and now. This is incredibly dangerous as the vehicle loses power and leaves my family and I at the mercy of other drivers around us. It h... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
No normal braking available; unable to place car in park as normal; unable to turn car off as normal; The All Surface Progress Control (ASPC) lamp illuminated to confirm that the ASPC system is enabled however the brake warning lamp illuminates but the vehicle cannot be driven with care contrary to what the manual states, but seek qualified assistance urgently contradicts dangerous hard no braki... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
On August 30, while driving the power steering warning activated and the steering wheel become extremely hard to move. Stopped the car and followed the troubleshoot procedure; however, the failure persisted and had to request a tow truck. When the tow truck showed up several hours later, the steering operated normally and warning lights were gone. The car was towed to the Honda dealership Klein Ho... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
Hello, I hope that my message will find you in the right clothes. We have not had any accidents until now, because I drive carefully.
Incident date: Sep 17, 2023
P052E PCV value problem Google search results show this is a very common problem, and despite being a component of the vehicle emissions system, Mercedes is refusing to repair under the emissions warranty.
Incident date: Dec 17, 2022
Purchased my Telluride as a Certified Preowned a few days ago. Tonight, I noticed that the headlight high beams aren't working correctly. The driver's side high beams work correctly when turned on, however the high beams on the passenger side will not turn on. I attached a video.
Incident date: Jun 11, 2020
over the course of this last year I've been in contact with Hyundai motors of America and my local Hyundai dealership after my 2015 Hyundai was showing signs of engine issues i was traveling along i-95 with my child at highway speeds when my car suddenly came to a stop causing panic and what could've been a tragic accident. had I wasn't able to regain control of my car. I was told to schedule an a... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The seatbelt rubs my neck no matter how adjust the seat. In 2015 I was in car accident and had a severe neck injury. I had Thoracic Outlet surgery. Recently on 8-24-23 I was in a fender bender . I injured my neck again, a disk bulge is pressing against my spinal cord. Both accidents the seatbelt pressed against my neck. I was wondering if it was a factory defect.
Crash
1 injured
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
I purchased this vehicle almost three weeks ago…I’m assuming it’s out of warranty…J am spending out of pocket expenses to have this car repaired….It has a faulty leakage in transmission that mechanics seem to can’t fix….I need my car for transportation….ATP I’m assuming the car is a lemon
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
Please see attached document, as my whole description would not fit in the box.
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
This is my second complaint regarding a Jeep and this time about a 2019 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 Limited, I turned in a complaint re: 2019 Jeep Compass as they both have the same problem. The stop/start system has drained the secondary battery, in turn draining the car battery, in turning almost killing the alternator, The failure left me in the middle of a busy intersection with no possible way to resta... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
This is my second complaint regarding a Jeep and this time about a 2019 Jeep Cherokee 4x4 Limited, I turned in a complaint re: 2019 Jeep Compass as they both have the same problem. The stop/start system has drained the secondary battery, in turn draining the car battery, in turning almost killing the alternator, The failure left me in the middle of a busy intersection with no possible way to resta... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
While driving on Sept 11 on I95 a pebble flew up off the roadway and hit my windshield on the left hand side (driver's side) and it immediately began to crack horizontally and went to the middle of the car. If the car is outside in sun/heat the windshield keeps cracking further across the windshield and is now reaching the passenger side of the car. This is a real safety issue. Called glass repai... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
The window trim came off while I was going 60mph. It was very loud and scary. I had no warning. I didn’t realise what it was until I stopped. I’m very lucky that it didn’t hit the car behind me at that speed. I see this part missing from a lot of Ford Explorers so it must be common. There needs to be a recall before someone gets hurt.
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
Wide spread issue with "engine coolant bypass valve". This has been going on for a long time and a lot of Toyota rav4 drivers are affected. Engine maintenance required pops up in the middle of the screen unexpectedly while driving which is distracting and a safety issue. Toyota refuses to take accountability for their faulty valves and issue a recall. Please help with this issue. If you google... Read more
Incident date: Sep 16, 2023
There are many recalls for the year make and model of my vehicle. They just didn't recall my exact vin. The breaks are recalled, air bags were recalled and they were buying back the vehicles, the fuel delivery system was recalled, headlights were recalled, cruise control was recalled, steering column and yoke was recalled, and a few more. None were recalled for my vin number when it should have be... Read more
Incident date: Sep 11, 2023
Screws installed during manufacturing penetrated fuel filler tube.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
The Jeep transmission wont go into gear, loses power ,wont go into reverse, speeds up on its own and doesn't go into drive or losses power
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
Throughout this truck's lifespan, it's had multiple problems with the engine and fuel system. Around 70k miles, the engine had to be completely rebuilt because of the issues with oil consumption; well known GM 5.3 liter V8 issue. The oil consumption issue then started back up around 140k miles. Once the vehicle hit 100k miles, it started throwing codes for running to lean and too rich, plus it ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
Throughout this truck's lifespan, it's had multiple problems with the engine and fuel system. Around 70k miles, the engine had to be completely rebuilt because of the issues with oil consumption; well known GM 5.3 liter V8 issue. The oil consumption issue then started back up around 140k miles. Once the vehicle hit 100k miles, it started throwing codes for running to lean and too rich, plus it ... Read more
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
When driving the car and stopping at red lights, stop signs, or any other stops in traffic on roads and expressways, the car engine randomly dies and cannot restart between 3 and 10 mins. There is no warning when this is about to happen – the car engine simply dies and dashboard lights come on. There is no response from the car after shifting in Neutral or Park by pressing the start button wit... Read more
Incident date: Sep 15, 2023
The contact owns a 2016 Ram 1500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V406000 (Fuel System, Diesel) and 23V411000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) however, the parts to do the recall repairs were unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repairs. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact stated... Read more
Incident date: Sep 14, 2023
Horn failed in the vehicle at approximately 4400 miles. Serviced by a Hyundai dealership, but had to wait nearly a month for it to be replaced. No warning lights or messages in the vehicle. I found out that the horn was not working after nearly being involved in an accident after being cut off. When I went to activate the horn, no sound came out.
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
The contact owns a 2008 Cadillac Escalade EXT. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the air bag warning light illuminated. The infotainment display displayed a message indicating that the air bags were off, potentially compromising vehicle safety. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who was unable to provide a cause for the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. After in... Read more
Incident date: Sep 8, 2023
The screen has bubbles form behind it from condensation and causes it to phantom press buttons. It will interrupt any activity you do it's is very distracting and dangerousfor equipped to fail when it is a known issue.
Incident date: Sep 13, 2023
The contact stated that the son owns a 2001 Toyota Avalon. While the son was driving approximately 5 mph, a second vehicle crashed into the front of the vehicle. During the crash, the air bags did not deploy. The contact indicated that after the crash the air bag light activated and remained illuminated. No injuries were reported. A police report was taken. The vehicle was later towed from the sce... Read more
Crash